Hairy Bikers Larger Than Live

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

I was gutted when I discovered that The Hairy Bikers were doing a gig in Aberdeen but it was already sold out. Fortuitously due to popular demand they added an extra performance. However it was at the rather strange time of 4.00pm on a Monday afternoon and I wasn't sure which of my foodie friends would be able to come with me. However the perfect candidate was staring me in the face, quite literally. 10 year old Boy. Problem was I wasn't sure if the show would be suitable for small humans. So I tweeted @HairyBikers to ask and Dave replied saying "its naughty but not rude". Much excitment when I told boy we were going to see two of his favourite TV foodie heros live onstage. Evenmoreso when I said were were in the third row from the front.

Before going to the show I decided that boy and myself had best do a bit of swotting. As much like Ant and Dec and Dick and Dom I wasn't 100% convinced that I knew who was Si and who was Dave. Armed with our definitive who's who guide (Dave has the glasses and is slightly more folically challenged) we headed to the gig. No sooner were we in the door than I was persuaded to part with £5 for a tour brochure with "10 free recipes". If that doesn't contravene the trades description act I don't know what does.

The lights dimmed, smoke machines went into overdrive and the bikers arrived onstage in their motorised thrones to the soundtrack of The Proclaimers 500 miles. Pretty much from there on in it became obvious that the show was as much about comedy as it was about cookery. A mixture of live action and video clips followed including singing, dancing, cross dressing and escapology. Boy appeared to be the youngest member of the audience and Dave did apologise to him personally if he learnt any new words from naughty Uncle Si's potty mouth.

At last the stage was transformed into a kitchen and it was time for some cooking. Dave diligently washed his hands on a regular basis but I never spotted Kingy at the sink. First up a non diet starter of deep fried Spring Onion Pakora followed by a Hairy Dieters version of Chicken Jalfrezi. Two audience members were invited up for their supper whilst the rest of us savoured the wafting smells and viewed the action on the big screen.

Next up was game show time with two lucky ladies from the audience chosen to compete in what turned out to be a game of strip wheel of fortune. The girls left with cookery books, goodie bags and signed wooden spoons whilst the boys were left naked. All done in the best possible taste.

More fun and frolics in the second half where we learnt that dog tastes like a cross between pork and duck and its not a great idea to take pot luck on a menu in foreign parts. A couple of competition winners took to the stage as dinner guests and were served a warm salad of duck, pancetta and black pudding followed by pan fried salmon, courgette ribbons, deep fried potatoes and highly carolific dill hollandaise. We also learned that they have a new book "Great Curries" in the offing for early next year.

I should probably confess to not actually owning any Hairy Bikers cookery books. Whilst I really enjoy their TV shows its the banter, people they meet and places they go that interest me as much as what they actually cook. However their most recent volume The Hairy Dieters is at the top of my Christmas list. Their own weight loss journey inspirational and as a foodie who has battled with conflicts between weight and love of food it hit a cord with me. I've already made a couple of dishes utilising the How to Love Food and Loose Weight recipes available online.

The Sweet and Sour Chicken was amazingly good. There's no way you would guess it was a diet version. The Egg, Bacon and Asparagus flan was a great idea too and you could adapt the lighter filo pastry crust with other fillings. My effort did however suffer from the dreaded soggy bottom. Better a soggy one than a fat one.

After two and a half hours which seemed to fly past our grand afternoon out with the hilarious biker boys was over. There's much less of them than there used to be but still tremendous value for money and highly recommended. Even if my 10 free recipes did cost me 50p each. As an Aberdonian I'll be getting my money's worth though as their Croque Monsieur and Apricot Tarte Tatin is on next weeks meal plan.

3 comments

Hee hee - they should have known not to try conning Aberdonians, eh? Glad they were good - even randomly at 4 on a Monday! They seem like nice, friendly guys and I do sometimes watch their programmes if I have ironing to do and they pop up on iPlayer.

Claire is a Scottish food and travel writer based in Aberdeen who has been blogging her edible adventures since 2012. A mum of two and wife of one, she is passionate about cooking from scratch, seasonality, food education and family-friendly recipes.